4 simple steps to selling a property Bianca Dabu by Bianca Dabu

Amidst the changing state of markets across Australia, sales executive Kiki Bermudez follows four simple steps to help property vendors maximise their earning potential anywhere, any time.

While investors can definitely sell their properties by themselves, Ms Bermudez strongly encouraged seeking the right agent to help you through the process of selling—from determining the right sales price to finding the best buyer.

“There are very different real estate markets out there and you need the right agent on your side,” she highlighted.

Find out the process that she has used for more than a decade to get the best results for her clients:

1. Budgeting

According to Ms Bermudez, the initial step would be to set a budget for the improvement and styling of the home to avoid overcapitalising or spending more than what could be earned.

The sales executive advised looking into alternative options to save as much money as possible without sacrificing quality.

She shared: “For example, instead of ripping out the bathroom and doing a $15,000-renovation, you may consider respraying the tiles and enamelling the bathtub and the shower. That will cost only about $2,500.”

“It's really about just making sure that people can actually live in it straight away instead of having them think, ‘We have to rip this out and spend.’ If you say $15,000, they'd probably think $20,000 to $25,000.

“You really just have to take away those objections and agents can guide you on what's appropriate and what's too much so you're not wasting your money,” Ms Bermudez added.

2. Determining the target market

Once you have the budget set, study your target market and consider it as your main guide to styling the property.

In most cases, the type of property dictates the kind of buyers that are most likely to be attracted to the property more than the dwelling’s location.

Ms Bermudez explained: “If it's a semi-detached home or a free-standing home, it tends to be professionals working in the CBD or moms with children. In terms of your lower end market, which is your one- and two-bedroom dwellings, you'd tend to have a lot more investors in that market.”

Aside from distinguishing owner-occupied markets versus investors’ markets, she also advised considering the nationalities and cultures of potential buyers.

For instance, in the city of Randwick where she does most of her business, several suburbs are home to foreigners who are studying or working in and around the area.

She said: “It’s mostly Australian in the Randwick, CoogeeCoogee, NSW Coogee, WA market. Where it tends to shift a bit more is KensingtonKensington, VIC Kensington, WA Kensington, SA Kensington, NSW, Kingsford, which is right next door.”

“You've got a lot of international focus, particularly from the Asian market. Out of ten buyers, you might have six or seven Chinese and Indonesian buyer. If that same property was in Randwick, two blocks away, it'd probably be just one or two foreign buyers,” the sales executive added.

Being specific in determining your target market will help you present the property in a way that best suits your potential buyers, thus increasing your chances of selling at the best price.

3. Styling

After the first two steps, styling a property should be a breeze with the help of the right professionals, according to Ms Bermudez.

A good agent will help you go through it in fine detail—meaning, they will give you a list of what needs to be done in order to make the property beautiful, whether it’s an empty property or otherwise.

Then, they will coordinate with the right tradespeople to make the styling plan come to life.

The necessary changes can range from simple decluttering to a minimal cosmetic renovation, the sales executive said.

According to her: “It's very much about advice around decluttering the property, painting cracks, changing appliances. It's really about just making it visually pleasing.”

“For example, if your second bedroom is a gym, I would highly recommend making sure you change that space to utilise how potential buyers would normally utilise it. They need to get excited about the possibilities and what that actual space can offer them,” she highlighted.

4. Marketing

Finally, before putting your property up on the market, take time to formulate a good marketing strategy so you can compete with similar properties available for sale in the same area.

Oftentimes, your marketing strategy can determine the level of success that you can achieve as a vendor.

After all, what’s the point of a well-styled property if no one goes to check out the place?

Ms Bermudez advised testing out a particular strategy for a couple of days then making the necessary adjustments based on initial feedback.

She said: “When buyers come to our open homes, we take notice of what's working and what's not. We say, ‘Where did you see the property advertised?’ ”

Nowadays, solo signboards are among the most effective marketing tools available to investors, especially if placed in busy areas.

Video marketing through Facebook Live and other social media sites is also a big hit to buyers because they want to have a good preview of the space before taking the time to actually see the dwelling in person.

Some investors go as far as seeking premium placement in real estate websites like realestate.com.au or domain.com.au.

Meanwhile, there are those who still resort to print marketing, especially if they are selling premium houses.

According to the sales executive: “That is somewhat effective but more so for houses as opposed to units. Some of these more premium houses are going on print publication like a beautiful coffee table book. You spend thousands but you do get noticed by gentlemen that work in the financial markets.”

At the end of the day, the best marketing strategy will be determined by your target market, the type of property you are selling and, ultimately, the goals you want to achieve, Ms Bermudez said.

“The world is yours in terms of how far you want to go. It might be painful at first, whether it's a few hundred bucks or a couple thousand dollars, but in the big picture, it is such a small percentage of the actual value of your property. That one extra buyer that you can introduce can make a huge difference to price,” she concluded.

Tune in to Kiki Bermudez’s episode on The Smart Property Investment Show to find out more ways to maximise your earning potential when selling a property.
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